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[URL="http://www.kffl.com/gnews.php?id=838414-steelers-two-expected-to-have-contracts-restructured"]Steelers | Two expected to have contracts restructured [/URL]
Mon, 11 Feb 2013 10:29:21 -0800
The [URL="http://www.kffl.com/team/30/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers"]Pittsburgh Steelers[/URL] are expected to ask QB [URL="http://www.kffl.com/player/9341/nfl/ben-roethlisberger"]Ben Roethlisberger[/URL] and SS [URL="http://www.kffl.com/player/5973/nfl/troy-polamalu"]Troy Polamalu[/URL] to restructure their contracts this offseason in order to create some salary cap space.

[URL="http://www.kffl.com/gnews.php?id=838368-steelers-willie-colon's-contract-too-rich"]Steelers | Willie Colon's contract too rich [/URL]
Mon, 11 Feb 2013 07:12:49 -0800
[URL="http://www.kffl.com/team/30/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers"]Pittsburgh Steelers[/URL] OG [URL="http://www.kffl.com/player/14749/nfl/willie-colon"]Willie Colon[/URL]'s base salary jumps from $700,000 in 2012 to $5.5 million in 2013, and as a result he's likely to be released in the offseason.

What we might do next is try & identify what physical characteristics the Steelers look for in a player, by position, and see if there is any sort of pattern to be found there.

Starting at the top, we'll look at QB. Now, quite frankly, this will be tough to evaluate, simply because they have only drafted 1 QB during the Tomlin/Colbert regime, but we'll look at what Dennis Dixon offered physically, as well as 2 QB's that Tomlin has looked at during draft time- Pat White & Kirk Cousins.

With such a small sample to work with, it's difficult to find too many common characteristics to work with, but not impossible.

Unfortunately for our purposes, Dennis Dixon was injured at this time in 2008 & missed a lot of the potential measurables.

Here's what we can tell, however- the QB will be from one of the bigger college conferences (Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12), the QB will be reasonably fast (4.5ish is around the mark), the QB should be able to Broad Jump over 9', 20 Yard Shuttle around the 4.5 mark, 3 Cone around the 7 seconds mark.

Since 2007 at the Combine, these results would put the targetted Steeler QB at:

40 Yard- around the 5th-10th fastest
Broad Jump- Outside of the Top 10
20 Yard Shuttle- Outside the Top 10
3 Cone- Outside the Top 10.

So what have we learned? Well, the results indicate that the Combine will give us little indication as to who the Steelers might target. The more likely common thread to follow will be strength of college competition.

Weight- Depends on the role they play. Given that the weights vary between 180lbs & 241lbs, it's safe to say that the Steelers are not adverse to either smaller or larger RB's, depending on the style of play they bring.

40 Yard- Obviously Rainey was FAST. On the other end of the spectrum, Summers & Redman were SLOW. The happy medium seems to be around the 4.4 to 4.5 mark. The closer to 4.4, the higher the player gets drafted. Historically, since 2007, a 'Top 10' 40 time for RB's is around the 4.4 or higher mark. It's reasonable to assume that while the Steelers appreciate speed (Rainey), a more 'averaged' speed RB is not viewed badly by the organisation.

Bench- Rainey &, surprisingly, Dwyer failed to hit 20 reps, while Mendenhall & Batch put in useful numbers around mid 20's. Summers was the highest at 30. Since 2007, 32 reps has been the highest achieved bench for a RB. Top 10 numbers round out at 28 reps. Given that only Frank Summers fits into the 'Top 10' range, that bench press is not necessarily a measurable the Steelers view essential. Anything around the 23-25 rep mark would certainly be a pass for the Steelers.

Vertical- With numbers ranging from 33.5 to 39, the vertical jump is a fairly consistant measurable. If you break down the Combine numbers since 2007, the lowest vertical of 33.5 for the Steelers would get Mendenhall into the bottom of the Top 10 for the year. Numbers higher than that certainly jump a player higher up the order. Given that the Steelers RB's are all very good at Vertical's, let's assume this is a prime measurable.

Broad Jump- With numbers ranging from 8'11" through to just past 10', we can safely assume a broad jump at around the 9' area to be the taget range- higher obviously being better. Given that 10' or thereabouts is generally the bottom of the 'Top 10', it's safe to say that the Steelers don't value broad jump as highly as they do vertical.

20 Yard Shuttle- Rainey was clearly exceptional running below 4 seconds, but the others seem to fit in the 4.2 to 4.3 range. This drill tests agility & cutting ability, so it's safe to say, this is a drill to watch. Here's a bit of info for you- both Rainey & Mendenhall topped their class at 20 Yard shuttle. On top of that, 4.3 is about the cutoff for the Top 15 in each year since 2007. It's safe to assume that this, along with Vertical Jump, is a prime measurable.

3 Cone- Again, Rainey was exceptional here. Batch was pretty good around 7 seconds, while the bigger guys (Dwyer & Summers) were not surprisingly, slower at around 7.3 seconds. Rainey holds the record for 3 Cone results at the Combine since 2007. Around the 7.2 range is generally the cutoff for the Top 15, so Batch- had he been invited to the Combine- would certainly have made the grade. Mendenhall didn't test in the 3 cone drill.

So, what did we learn? Well, the Vertical Jump is a measurement of a player's 'explosiveness', while the 20 yard shuttle tests a players agility. Given that the Steelers value these 2 measurables highest, come Combine time, we can use these 2 tests to get an indication of who the Steelers might look at.

Size- contrary to popular belief, the Steelers have not focussed on shorter WR's, and have, in fact, under Tomlin/Colbert drafted more guys above 6' than under. That said, obviously they are not totally AGAINST drafting shorter players.

40 Yard- This is certainly one measurable to follow. Mike Wallace, Emmanual Sanders & Toney Clemons all finished in the top top 10 for their draft class in terms of 40 yard speed. Wallace is 5th overall since 2007. That Limas Sweed was drafted by the Steelers at all proves that 40 yard time is viewed, as all his other measurables fall short as far as Steeler history go. Dallas Baker & Antonio Brown are the only WR's not to break 4.5 & be drafted by the Steelers- and not surprisingly, both were drafted late.

Bench Press- None of the Steeler WR's even come close to a top 15 finish, so it's safe to say this is not a highly sought measurable.

Vertical- Here's one to follow. For every year that the Steelers have drafted a WR, the player selected has been either in, or just outside of, the top 15 WR's for the Vertical Jump. Both Sanders & Wallace were exceptional. Amazingly, our highest paid WR is the one that is the exception to the rule, once again. Jumping a vertical of around 35" is something to watch for. Interestingly- recently aquired WR Kashif Moore holds the Vertical record since 2007 with a jump of 43.5"- more fuel to the fire on this measurable.

Broad Jump- Mark this one down too. Sanders was #1 in his year, Wallace #4, Baker #6, Kashif Moore #4. Sweed & Clemons fell just short of the top 15, and again, Antonio Brown missed the mark (geez, he must have interviewed well!). Watch this drill closely- as Steeler WR targets come from high finishes, often. Look for something at 10' 05" or so as the guide.

20 Yard Shuttle- Kashif Moore is 10th overall since 2007 (4.05). Sanders once again tested off the charts in this drill, and finally Brown gets into the act, along with Dallas Baker. Surprisingly, Wallace missed the Top 15 (not by much though), perhaps giving some depth to the argument he is more of a straight line guy than agile. It's becoming increasingly unbelievable that Limas Sweed was ever drafted.. Given that the Steelers have 4 of the best 20 Yard Shuttle results drafted, let's put this down as another measurable to follow. Something in the 4.2 & lower range, certainly no higher.

3 Cone- Sanders sits 9th overall since 2007, and 2nd in his draft class. Mike Wallace got in at #15 for his year. Dallas Baker was 5th. Kashif Moore was 5th last year (6.82). Brown & Clemons were a little slower, and not surprisingly, drafted late. Sweed..... the figures don't look good for Sweed. This looks to be a moderate level measurable, like 40 yard, for the Steelers. It certainly doesn't hurt to be good here, put it that way.

40 Yard- No Steeler OL drafted has made the all-time top 15 OL. It's safe to say the Steelers have very little interest in watching fat men run.

Bench- DeCastro, Stephenson, Gilbert & Shipley all broke the top 15 OL in bench press in their respective classes. On the other hand, Beachum, Adams & Scott couldn't break 20 reps. This looks a more likely stat to follow for Interior OL moreso that OT's.

Vertical- Only DeCastro & Shipley broke into the top guys for their years. safe to assume this is not an important stat to follow.

Broad- No Steeler draft pick broke the top 15 in any of their years.

3 Cone- DeCastro is 6th overall since 2007. 1st overall in his year. Shipley is the only other Steeler draft pick to feature.

20 Yard Shuttle- Shipley is 6th overall. Not surprisingly, the only other Steeler to feature is... DeCastro.

What this tells us is that, more than any other position, OL measurables are not as important to the Steelers as game tape, interviews & drills.

Although it seems unlikely the Steelers will explore the NT option this draft, it's not completely off the radar either. What is more interesting is the success we had with this 'history system' last season- we concluded that the Steelers look for NT's that are 6'1"- 6'3", sit between 300lbs- 340lbs, lift the bench at minimum 30+, have a Vertical around the 30" range & run the 3 Cone in and around 7.35.

In all the Combine results, Fangupo & Ta'amu were within one to 2 names of being right on the mark- sometimes better, sometimes just a touch worse.

If the Steelers are to look at a NT, the Combine numbers we looked at last year would seem the likely ones to follow again.

6'5"ish is about the right height for a Steelers DE. Add to these players Aaron Smith & Brett Keisel, and the trend continues.

Add to the height, a weight of around 290lb-300lb is ideal. Again, when you include both Smith & Keisel you start to see a trend.

Speed-wise, it seems that around 5.00 is acceptable for the Steelers. It's quite possible that this stat means very little.

Bench- It would appear a mark of high 20's to 30's is about the target. Interesting that Ziggy should have the highest Rep count- we don't assosciate Ziggy with his playing strength in general, but we all know he is weight room strong

Vertical- both the vertical & broad jump should indicate a level of explosiveness. No surprise that both Hood & Heyward excelled here, where later round picks like Harris & McBean were not as impressive.

Broad- See Vertical. Ziggy didn't jump as well as the Steelers seem to like- but could this be partly due to being shorter & stumpy?

20 Yard Shuttle & 3-Cone- These tests tend to try & show agility. No surprise that Ziggy should test well here as he seems quite shifty in his play. Surprisingly...or perhaps not seeing as how he now starts for the Broncos- Ryan McBean was not far off Hood on measurables.

So what did we learn? Steelers 3-4 DE's should be up around the 6'5", 290lb area, be able to run at around 5.00, bench around 27-30 (higher is good), jump up around 30". Higher the jump- higher the draft round. That appears to be the main criterea for Steelers 3-4 DE draft picks.

COMBINE RESULTS 2013: (A couple of players that appeared under NT may reappear in the DE Stats. Only players 275lbs & higher will be considered options as 3-4 DE. Only players 6'3" & taller will be considered DE.)